ARLINGTON – A day after he decided against throwing a bullpen session because his “body told,” him, Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish on Wednesday was placed on the 15-day DL with right elbow inflammation.

Darvish is slated to undergo and MRI on Thursday, but initial exams by team medical director Dr. Keith Meister indicated the injury did not involve the ulnar collateral ligament, the ligament that is involved in Tommy John surgery. General manager Jon Daniels described the injury as “pronator tendinitis.”

“The [ligament] was our first question, but Dr. Meister didn’t feel that was involved,” Daniels said. “Yu said, if we were maybe in a different spot playing a meaningful game, he might be able to pitch. But we all agreed that with the year we’ve had with injuries, we’re not going to push anything.”

Daniels added that the Rangers are hopeful Darvish will simply miss two starts. Shutting him down, as the Rangers have with other pitchers who have been diagnosed with elbow inflammation, is not “where our head is at or Yu’s head is at,” Daniels said. The Rangers will wait for the MRI result before coming up with a plan.

Darvish did not address reporters before the game, but had conducted his usual between-starts media briefing on Tuesday. He played off the fact that he did not throw a bullpen session. He has skipped a bullpen session once or twice a year.

“It just depends on how I feel,” Darvish said Tuesday through an interpreter while wearing ice packs on his shoulder and arm. “If my feelings tell me not to, then I don’t throw.”

It is the Rangers’ 24th use of the DL this year, the most in the majors, and the sixth time a pitcher has been diagnosed with elbow inflammation. All of the previous players diagnosed with elbow inflammation are out for the year. Those five: Tanner Scheppers (twice), Pedro Figueroa and Martin Perez (both ended up having Tommy John surgery) and Alexi Ogando.

Darvish lasted only four innings in a start against Houston on Saturday, his second-shortest outing of the year, but told Rangers officials the elbow caused him no issues during the start.

On Monday, he said he felt some tightness while playing catch. The tightness did not dissipate when he prepared to throw in the bullpen on Tuesday and he decided against going through with the bullpen. On Wednesday, he briefly played catch under the eye of athletic trainer Kevin Harmon before the club made the decision.

LHP Alex Claudio was purchased from Triple-A Round Rock to give the depleted bullpen a boost for Wednesday. LHP Robbie Ross, who has recently had success as a starter at Triple-A Round Rock, will be recalled to make Thursday’s start.

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